Category Archives: News

Comments Off on Irish Water Issues Drinking Water Advisory For Rathkeale

According to an RTE news report on October 5th, an estimated 2,500 customers in Rathkeale town and also the Kilcolman area are affected by a “Do Not Drink” water advisory from Irish Water. Customers and users of the public water supply in Rathkeale, have been advised not to drink the water or use it to prepare food or brush their teeth with it. The precautionary notice was issued by Irish Water after advise from the HSE and Limerick County Council where tests showed the Rathkeale public water supply had high levels of turbidity.

Turbidity is a measure of the cloudiness or haziness of water supplies and is caused by particles of dirt or suspended solids such as sediment and grit. The turbidity in water can look unsightly and could leave a sediment residue in household plumbing systems, bathtubs, sinks, plumbing fixtures and appliances.

As a tempory measure, supplies of bottled water are being made available at Rathkeale Church car park in the town, while Irish Water is working to correct the problem, which could take a number of days to fix. Read more..

Approximately 20% of the population get their drinking water from private supplies, including group water schemes or private wells. In 2016, a lack of monitoring by local authorities resulted in 126 boil water notices being imposed on private water supplies which affected around 7,000 people.

The EPA has criticised the way E.coli testing of private water supplies is done by local authorities. E.coli is a faecal bacteria from animal or human waste which, when ingested, lives in the gut and causes abdominal cramping, watery diarrhoea that may change to bloody stools, and eventually a fever. In can be fatal in people who are sick or the elderly. According to the EPA, E.coli testing was not reported at over 800 private water supplies serving commercial buildings like hotels, B&Bs, pubs or public buildings [like schools, crèches, campsites, nursing homes etc]. These supplies are often more likely to be contaminated with E-Coli.

For homeowners and households worried about contamination in their drinking water supplies, we recommend the installation of a quality point of use water filter or wholehouse water filtration system.

According to a report in the Limerick Leader newspaper, some residents in the village of Ardagh have been unable to drink their tap water for the past few months because of the smell of petrol in the drinking water. The problem appears to be worse when the water is heated.

Irish Water have apparently wrote to residents telling them that the HSE advice was “not to drink the water or use it for prepared food, ice making or brushing of teeth.”

“However, unless any petrol type odour is noted, this water can be used for toilet flushing bathing, showering, laundry and dishwashing.”

For households worried about contamination in their drinking water supplies, we recommend the installation of a quality point of use water filter or wholehouse water filtration system…Read More

The Irish Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has published the results of research which shows for the first time, evidence on the sources and scale of microplastic pollution in Irish freshwater. The research which was led by researchers in the Marine and Freshwater Research Centre at Galway Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT), also points to a number of potential impacts of microplastics in Irish waters to both humans and other species.

The increase in plastic production and disposal in recent decades has resulted in plastic litter becoming an increasing environmental concern and problem. Microplastics are a contributor to this plastic litter. Microplastics are defined as plastic particles less than 5mm in diameter, formed either through the breakdown of large plastic particles or through intentional production (as microbead scrubbers) in products such as cosmetics and household cleaning products. Wastewater treatment facilities are not designed to filter out or remove microplastics so these non-biodegradable micro-particles can end up in rivers and oceans, potentially entering the human food chain. As a home owner, if you are worried about potential plastic micropolutants in your drinking water supply, we recommend the installation of a quality point of use water filter or wholehouse water filtration system. Read more…

Comments Off on Limerick Included in Poor Drinking Water Quality Report

Private drinking water supplies including those serving rural schools, hotels and hospitals have some of Ireland’s worst quality water, the Irish Environmental Protection Agency has warned. The new report form the EPA, shows that small private wells, including those in Co Limerick, have the worst E.coli contamination levels – significantly behind group water schemes and public water supplies. Private water wells on or close to dairy farms where animal and cow slurry is stored or spread are particularly vulnerable to contamination from E-coli. As well as slurry seeping into the ground, other sources of contamination include leaky well covers, foul surface water, slurry leaking into rivers and streams and pollution from household septic tanks, chemical or fuel storage.

To protect your family health and ensure safe drinking water from a private water well, a water filtration system is a sound investment. For home owners with their own private water well, a grant of up 75% of the cost subject to a maximum of €2031.58 is available from the Department of Housing Planning Community and Local Government to assist with protecting and maintaining their household water well or installing basic treatment like disinfection or filtration systems. Click here to download or read the full EPA report.

Comments Off on West Limerick Drinking Water Supplies May Be Affected By THMs

The use of chlorine to purify drinking water is common in rural water schemes throughout Ireland and is essential to ensure safe drinking water. However, if organic matter is present it can react with the chlorine to form trihalomethanes or (THMs). This is often the case in Ireland, as most of our drinking water comes from surface-water sources, such as rivers, lakes and streams, that often have high levels of vegetation or organic matter.

In a report published by the Irish Times, it shows that some studies have suggested a link between cancer and long-term exposure (over years) to THMs, and also that THMs can have an effect on reproduction. According to the Irish Time article, there is some evidence that THMs cause cancer in animals. As a result, they are classified as “possibly carcinogenic” to humans. In Ireland, THM’s have been known to occur in some counties where the surface water is sourced from areas close to boggy or peat soils. This means that some areas of West Limerick such as Athea, Ashford, Tournafulla could be affected. The vegetation and organic matter in these water supplies reacts with chlorine (which is used to purify the water) to form Trihalomethanes.

What are THMs? Trihalomethanes (THM’s) occur when water containing natural organic matter or vegetation is treated with chlorine to purify it. The result is a disinfection by-product known as THMs. At elevated levels, THMs have been associated with negative health effects such as cancer and adverse reproductive outcomes.

For anyone living in the affected areas or who anyone worried about THMs and other chemical contaminants in their drinking water, a quality under-sink water filter or water filtration system will purify the water for drinking and provide long term protection and peace of mind. Read More…

Comments Off on Cryptosporidium Contamination Detected in Mayo Water Supply

Cryptosporidium has been detected in the treated water coming from the Lough Mask Water Treatment Plant in Co Mayo, according to a report in the Mayo News. In line with normal practice, and depending on results from the now daily testing that will occur, this Boil Water Notice could remain in place for approximately two weeks. Cryptosporidium is a parasite that lives in, or on another organism. It can infect the bowels (intestines) and cause cryptosporidiosis. Infection can occur in humans and animals and is often caused by animal manure or farm slurry, particularly slurry from large dairy farms getting into a drinking water source. A quality home water filter system is an effective way to safeguard drinking water supplies from Cryptosporidium and other parasites…Read More

Many drinking water treatment plants throughout Ireland are in poor condition and facing failure according to Irish Water. Because of stringent new quality guidelines, water is now tested up to six times a year and Irish Water intends to shut down plants and issue boil-water notices if problems emerge. This is unlike how water treatment plants operated in the past, where boil-water notices were implemented after problems were discovered. For many homes in rural areas, a home water filter system would be a good investment in improving the quality of drinking water as well as a safeguard if and when boil water notices are issued. Read More…

Comments Off on Antibiotics in Tap Water A Growing Concern For Ireland

A new research report from the Irish EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) shows how antibiotics are getting into the environment, particularly water sources and looks at the possible effects of antibiotics in the environment on human health. It is now commonplace for antibiotics to fail or not work as intended, which was unheard of 20 years ago. The immediate public health concern discussed in the report, considers the effect of antibiotics in water and how microbes in water change to become more antibiotic resistant.

The increased use of antibiotics is influenced by an increasing and aging population, longer survival of people with complex illnesses, changes in food production systems, farming practices and other social and economic factors. Effluent from hospitals can be heavily contaminated with antibiotics and pathogens. Modern farming practices rely heavily on antibiotics, used as preventative medication to keep animals alive and healthy in confined spaces such as in intensive dairy farms, piggeries, broiler houses, poultry farms and anywhere animals are confined in close cramped conditions. The antibiotics are usually included in processed animal feed or administered directly into farm animals such as dairy cows in large dairy herds. Animal waste from chickens, cows and pigs in confined conditions includes a number of potentially harmful pollutants including nitrogen, phosphorus, antibiotics, pathogens and hormones. For people living in rural areas such as the Golden Vale and other intensive farming areas, an effective home water filtration system is a great way to protect home drinking water from water borne contamination including antibiotics previously used to treat animals or humans.

The new report from the Irish Environmental Protection Agency is entitled “Hospital Effluent: Impact on the Microbial Environment & Risk to Human Health” and it goes into great detail on the threat to Irish water by antibiotic-resistant bacteria…Read More

According to a report in Donegal Now, Fluoride in water supplies is now suspected of causing birth defects. The report also states that Donegal County Council has joined a number of other Irish County Councils to pass a motion calling on the Government to stop treating drinking water with fluoride. The Fluoride Free Towns group is advising the general public to reduce their daily intake of fluoride to zero until a safety threshold has been determined and are especially recommending expectant mothers to avoid all sources of fluoride to ensure their child when born does not suffer from fluoride induced birth defects. For water supplies that are treated with fluoride, installing a point-of-use or a whole-house water filter system will reduce or eliminate the fluoride depending on the type of filter used…Read More

It has been claimed that Limerick Water users are being treated like Guinea Pigs in the use of Orthophosphate in their water supply. The use of Orthophosphate dosing in treating water is controversial due to the possible human side effects and damage to the environment such as increased algae growth in rivers and lakes. Orthophosphate dosing has proved effective in reducing lead in water by coating the pipes which helps reduce the levels of lead being dissolved into the water…Read More

Comments Off on Limerick To Trial Orthophosphate in Drinking Water Supplies

Limerick has been chosen as the test site by Irish Water to use a chemical called Orthophosphate which is hoped will reduce the amount of lead leaking into the city’s drinking water supplies. While the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends lead in the water should be combated by replacing the lead piping, it has acknowledged adding Orthophosphate to the supply could be a temporary solution. A safer solution is to add a filtration system to remove lead and other metals from drinking water. Limerick was chosen because it is on the Shannon estuary and not near fresh water bodies. The chemical Orthophosphate is classified as a phosphate (as in fertilisers) and can cause blue-green algae blooms in fresh water, a phenomenon that is already occurring on Lough Derg due to the over-use of fertilisers and subsequent run-off from farm land. Blue-green algae blooms in fresh water can produce potentially toxic cyanobacteria, which is a threat to human health. Pets and wildlife can die as a result of drinking water contaminated with cyanobacteria from algae blooms. In humans, contaminated water can cause acute stomach illness and skin rashes. With algae growth only set to rise, thanks in part to global climate change and the over-use of fertilisers in farming, the impact of its growth on human drinking water is a growing concern. Because Limerick is on an estuary, Irish Water say it is safe to add it to the city water supply…Read More (PDF)